In the organizer's words:

Since reunification, the number of members of German parties has fallen enormously: whereas a good 2.4 million Germans were members of the CDU, CSU, SPD, Greens, FDP and Left Party (or PDS) at the time, only around half are now members of these parties and the AfD. Although there was a temporary movement in the opposite direction in 2024, the trend remains clear: fewer and fewer people are committing themselves to parties. The category of "people's parties" seems less and less appropriate.

The director himself believed: In the local association, you meet people who know how to "make things happen and get things done". What he found, however, were rigid rituals, predetermined opinions, rules of procedure and statutes with lists of speakers and deadlines for meetings. But also: people who are committed and dedicated, young and old, to both large and small issues. Between crosswalks and global security policy, there was hardly a topic that went undiscussed. The members get involved. They put up posters and spend a lot of their free time on local politics without reward or thanks. On the contrary, they are met with ingratitude and wild insinuations at their information stands and online.

The question remains: what motivates these people to commit themselves to society, despite the headwind? What do we learn from this about democratic parties and how they need to change in order to become more attractive again? Ultimately, how can we create more democracy again?

We are very pleased to invite you to the Kiel premiere of the film and to discuss the topics afterwards with Jan-Christoph Schultchen (director), Serpil Midyatli (Member of Parliament, parliamentary group leader and chairwoman of the SPD Schleswig-Holstein), Wilhelm Knelangen (Professor of Political Science, Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel) and Luisa Galli (Junger Rat Kiel), among others.

Moderator: Christine Strotmann (Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung)

Participation is free of charge.
- Registration HERE is required. We will send a confirmation of registration upon successful registration.
- The venue is barrier-free. For further information, please contact us by e-mail at nord@fes.de.